UK coins

Over the many centuries of British coinage there have been a huge number of UK coins produced. Different denominations, metals, changing names for the same coin.

Today, UK coins are of a comparatively small number and range compared to pre-decimal coinage. There are many commemorative and bullion coins, not used for general exchange, but circulating currency coins are restricted to just a few denominations.

Many UK commemorative coins are legal tender but, as with some bullion coins, these valuable coins are worth more than their face value.

Some bullion coins, such as the Sovereign – despite having a face value of £1 – are based on old denominations no longer used.

Any list of UK coins, current and withdrawn, must take account of the major changes that took place with the 1816 Great Recoinage and 1971 Decimalisation.

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Great Recoinage of 1816

The Great Recoinage of 1816 was precipitated by United Kingdom's financial debt from the 1803–1815 Napoleonic War. During the war, a shortage of silver and copper had curtailed the striking of new UK coins.

Paper money, which had become legal in 1797, and token coins were being increasingly used. Token coins were substitutes for legal tender issued by large businesses and banks. In the short-term these were exchangeable for legal tender, and were meant to allow wages to be paid and transactions made, without the need for coins made of expensive metals.

The Coinage Act of 1816 was passed to address this shortage. It took Britain off a silver standard and onto a gold standard. On the gold standard, new gold coins fixed the pound Sterling to the price of gold and not silver. This allowed new silver coins to be minted with a face value greater than that of their precious metal.

After 1816 the value of sterling silver was fixed by minting 66 shillings from a troy pound of the metal. This established the weight of all silver coins, and later cupro-nickel coins until the 1990s, after which smaller coins were introduced.

This scarce Sovereign was the first of the modern generation of Sovereigns, produced by The Royal Mint as part of the Great Recoinage that changed UK coins.

The Coinage Act empowered the Bank of England to begin the Great Recoinage programme. The programme created the £1 gold Sovereigns. The UK Sovereign coin was minted from 22 carat gold, and carried the now famous image of St. George & the Dragon by Benedetto Pistrucci. It was intended to replace the gold, twenty-one shilling, Guinea. New silver shillings, half-crowns and crowns were also introduced.

In the six years following the start of the Recoinage, The Royal Mint struck nearly 40 million shillings, 17 million half-crowns and 1.3 million silver crowns. This was achieved with steam-powered minting technology, developed by and supplied by the Birmingham industrialist, Matthew Bolton.

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Decimalisation 1971

Today, Britain uses a decimal currency system, with one hundred pennies equalling one pound; but before decimalisation day in 1971 there were twelve pence to one shilling, and twelve shillings to a pound. Meaning there were two-hundred and forty old pence to the pound.

The 1971 decimalisation caused public outrage. Confused shoppers could not understand why the 'simple' pounds, shillings and pence was changing to the complex and incomprehensible decimal system!

The new decimal, 1p, penny was smaller and more convenient than the old, 1d, penny. The new decimal coins came in various face values with many new coin designs. This saw the end of many coins denominated in shillings. Some shilling coins, which had exact decimal equivalents, continued to circulate but were gradually replaced.

The one shilling was equal to five new pennies. The two shilling coin – or a florin – equalled ten new pennies. All these coins were gradually withdrawn, ceased to be legal currency, or were replaced by decimal equivalents.

Decimalisation also replaced the old penny coins with new decimal pennies. The old sixpence coin, which was exactly two and half new pennies, was again retained for a short period.

The pound coin, which replaced the one pound bank note, was not part of decimalisation. It was introduced later in 1983.

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List of UK coins

Below is a list of UK coins, separated into their respective time periods. While comprehensive it is not exhaustive, and particularly for modern UK coin there are a huge number of new releases. In many cases these share values, such as the £100 UK coins but would be from different ranges.

Common British coins before the Great Recoinage of 1816:
In approximate date order:

Coin	Pre-decimal Value (Shillings & Pence)	Decimal Value (Pence)	First Circulation (Circa)	Last Circulation (Circa)	Notes
Mite	1/24d	0.001736	450	1485
Half Mark	6s 8d	3.33	500	1400
Mark	13/4d	6.67	500	1400
One Penny	1d	0.42	757	1970
Farthing	1/4d	0.104167	1200	1960
Gold Penny	1s 8d to 2s	8.33 to 10	1257	1265
Halfpenny	1/2d	0.21	1272	1969
Groat	4d	1.67	1279	1662
Quarter Florin (Helm)	1s 6d	7.5	1344	1344
Quarter Noble	1s 8d	8.33	1344	1470
Half Florin (Leopard)	3s	1.5	1344	1344
Florin (Double Leopard)	6s	3	1344	1344
Noble	6s 8d (later 8s 4d)	3.333 (later 4.167)	1344	1464
Half Noble	3s 4d to 4s 2d	1.667 to 2.083	1346	1438	Minted but not circulated.
Half Groat	2d	0.83	1351	1662
Angel	6s 8d	3.333	1461	1643
Rose Noble (Ryal)	10s (later 15s)	5 (later 7.5)	1464	1470
Half Angel	3s 4d (later 5s 6d)	1.667 (later 2.75)	1470	1619
Rose Noble (Ryal)	10s (later 15s)	5 (later 7.5)	1487	1487
Sovereign	20s	100	1489	1604
Shilling	1s	5	1502	1970
Half Crown	2s 6d	1.25	1526	1969
Crown of the Rose	4s 6d	22.5	1526	1551
Crown	5s	25	1526	1965
Half Sovereign	10s	50	1544	1553
Silver Threepence	3d	0.83	1547	1945	Including Maundy Money
Sixpence	6d	2.5	1547	1970
Quarter Angel	2s	10	1547	1600
Rose Noble (Ryal)	10s (later 15s)	5 (later 7.5)	1553	1603
Halfpound	10s	50	1559	1602
Three Farthings	3/4d	0.31	1561	1582
Three Halfpence	1 1/2d	0.63	1561	1870	With breaks in minting.
Half Sovereign	10s	50	1603	1604
Double Crown	10s	50	1604	1619
Spur Ryal	15s	7.5	1604	1625
Unite	20s	100	1604	1619
Rose Ryal	30s	150	1604	1625
Half Laurel	10s	50	1619	1625
Laurel	20s	100	1619	1644
Double Crown	10s	50	1625	1662
Carolus	20s (later 23s)	100 (later 115)	1625	1649
Halfpound	10s	50	1642	1644
Half Unite	10s	50	1642	1643
Triple Unite	60s	300	1642	1644
Unite	20s	100	1649	1662
Broad	20s	100	1656	1656
Fifty Shillings	50s	250	1656	1656
Guinea	21s	105	1663	1799
Two Guinea	40s (later 42s)	200 (later 210)	1664	1753
Silver Twopence	2d	0.83	1668	2019	Including Maundy Money.
Five Guineas	100s (later 105s)	500 (later 510)	1668	1753
Half Guinea	10/6d	5.25	1669	1813
Quarter Guinea	5/3d	2.625	1718	1762
Copper Twopence	2d	0.83	1797	1798
Third Guinea	7s	3.5	1797	1813
Guinea	21s	105	1813	1816

Coins between the Great Recoinage and Decimalisation:

Coin	Pre-decimal Value (Pence)	Decimal Value (Pence)	First Circulation (Circa)	Last Circulation (Circa)
Half Sovereign	10s	50	1817	1937
Sovereign	20s	100	1817	1937
Two Pounds	40s	200	1823	1937
Five Pounds	100s	500	1826	1990
Third Farthing	1/12d	0.03472	1827	1913
Half Farthing	1/8d	0.052083	1828	1868
Groat	4d	1.67	1836	1862
Quarter Farthing	1/16d	0.026	1839	1868
Florin (Two Shillings)	2s	10	1848	1970
Double Florin	4s	20	1887	1890
Threepence	3d	0.83	1937	1970

Coins After Decimalisation:

Coin	Face Value	First Circulation (Circa)	Last Circulation (Circa)	Notes
Half Penny	1/2p	1971	1984
One Penny	1p	1971	Current
Two Pence	2p	1971	Current
Five Pence	5p	1971	1990	Direct replacement for the One Shilling coin.
Five Pence	5p	1990	Current	Smaller than the One Shilling coin.
Six Pence	6p	2016	Current	Commemorative coin.
Ten Pence (Florin)	10p	1971	1992	Direct replacement for the Florin.
Ten Pence	10p	1971	Current	Smaller than the pre-decimal Florin.
Twenty Pence	20p	1982	Current
Twenty-Five Pence	25p	1972	1981	A commemorative (Crown) coin.
Fifty Pence	50p	1969	1997
Fifty Pence	50p	1997	Current	Smaller than the first 50p coin.
Round One Pound	£1.00	1983	2017
Twelve-sided One Pound	£1.00	2017	Current
Two Pounds	£2.00	1986	Current	Commemorative issue.
Two Pounds	£2.00	1998	Current	General circulation.
Five Pounds	£5.00	1990	Current	Replacement for the commemorative 25p Crown.
Gold Britannia	£100.00	1987	Current	Bullion coin.
Silver Britannia	£2.00	1997	Current	Bullion coin.
Sovereign	£1.00	1957	Current	Bullion coin.
Twenty Pounds	£20.00	2013	Current	Commemorative coin.
Fifty Pounds	£50.00	2015	Current	Commemorative coin.
One Hundred Pounds	£100.00	2015	Current	Commemorative & Bullion coin.